Lottery player celebrates second big win in 3 years in NC. ‘Lightning struck twice’

A lottery player in North Carolina hit his second big windfall in less than three years with a $200,000 top prize, following up on an “unbelievable” $100,000 win in 2021.

“I can’t believe lightning struck twice,” the Pitt County man told lottery officials.

Christopher Mills beat out nearly 47 million people to land the highest prize in the fourth and final 2023 Multiply the Cash Second Chance lottery drawing, the NC Education Lottery announced Feb. 8.

After tax, he took home $143,000, lottery officials said.

His recent prize comes on the heels of a December 2021 win when he bought a Winter Winnings scratch-off ticket at a Kinston gas station. He scratched the ticket in his car, and had to put his glasses on to make sure he was reading it right, officials said.

At the time, the social worker said he was going to put his money toward his twin sons’ masters degrees. Now that they’ve graduated, Mills told lottery officials he plans to use his second prize to continue paying off their education.

He learned of his second win Feb. 7.

“I was shocked when I got the email but I was overjoyed,” the Winterville man told lottery officials.

Pitt County is about 85 miles southeast of Raleigh.

This story was originally published February 9, 2024 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Lottery player celebrates second big win in 3 years in NC. ‘Lightning struck twice’."